Letter 39

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
← Letter 39 →
Recipient	Michael Tolkien
Date	29 September 1940
Subject(s)	World War II

Letter 39 is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Summary

Tolkien told his son Michael of two women, mother and daughter-in-law, who were staying with the Tolkiens during the Blitz. They went back to London that morning, and Tolkien commented that he had never seen more simple, helpless, gentle and unhappy souls. Both women were away from their husbands for the first time in their lives, and "would prefer to be blown to bits".